Synchrotron Radiation News

Progress on SESAME at the Fourth Meeting of the Interim Council

Herman Winick

The 4th meeting of the SESAME IC was held in Yerevan, Armenia on Nov. 9-10, 2000. It was hosted by UNESCO, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, and the Yerevan Physics Institute (YERPHI). The meeting was chaired by Herwig Schopper (CERN) with Siegbert Raither (UNESCO) as Secretary. UNESCO, which is acting as an umbrella organization for SESAME much as it did in the creation of CERN, was represented by Gisbert Glasser, Assistant Director-General for Science.

The objective of the SESAME Project is to bring synchrotron radiation research to the broad Middle East region. The German government has indicated its willingness to donate the BESSY I 800 MeV synchrotron radiation facility for this purpose now that it has stopped operation (in November, 1999) due to the start of operation of BESSY II, also located in Berlin. The present members of the SESAME Project are Armenia,Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, the Palestinian Authority and Turkey (see previous articles in SR News).

Interest in developing an international center for SR research has grown in Armenia during the past 1-2 years. In November 1999 Armenia submitted a proposal to host SESAME. Six other countries (Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Oman, the Palestinian Authority and Turkey) also submitted proposals in November 1999. (See later in this article for more on the Armenian interest.)

At the third meeting of the SESAME Interim Council in June 2000 in Amman Jordan, the first choice as a site for a 1 GeV facility based on an upgrade of BESSY I was chosen to be Allaan Jordan, about 30 km from Amman and 30 km from the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge crossing of the Jordan river. If for any reason SESAME cannot be realized in Jordan, Armenia was chosen as a backup site.

A Conceptual Design Report (CDR) for an upgrade of BESSY I to a 1 GeV, 700 mA, 100 m circumference, 6 straight section (4 available for insertion devices) facility was completed on October 1999. This report detailed the upgrades and 10 initial beam lines providing research capability from the infrared to hard x-rays up to ~20-25 keV. The hard x-rays would be provided by 7.5 T, 13 pole superconducting wigglers. Two such wigglers are planned initially, each serving 3 experimental stations. One or two additional wigglers could be installed later in the 2 remaining available straight sections.

The CDR also described the buildings, user support facilities, staff, schedule, and costs. Broadly summarized the costs were estimated at about $20M for the buildings and associated infrastructure and upgrades to the technical components of BESSY I, plus about $22M for the 10 initial beam lines (including the two superconducting wigglers) and user-support facilities. These beam lines would be installed over a five year period.

Since the June IC meeting efforts have been underway to raise these funds, with emphasis on the funds required for the upgrade of BESSY I and the building. Jordan has offered the land for SESAME (100,000 square meters) and $1M/yr for 5 years as part of the required operations support. Jordan has also committed itself to raise the finds to construct the building from internal or external sources. Indeed several other Arab countries have indicated their intention to join SESAME.

The remaining funds are now being sought from all SESAME member countries plus other countries, including Observers to the IC, and international organizations. Observers now include Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Sweden and the US. Several other countries have expressed interest to join SESAME as members or observers. Member countries (and observer countries if they want to contribute voluntarily) are asked to contribute a minimum of $50K/year to the operating budget during the construction period of three years. Several countries have indicated willingness to make special contributions in addition to the operating budget. The US has agreed to contribute $50K per year for three years, with funds coming from the Department of Energy, the primary funding agency for US synchrotron radiation facilities.

Additional activities are underway to train members of the SESAME accelerator group and provide experience for future SESAME users at existing SR facilities around the world. In September 1999 a 10 day Machine Workshop was held in Jordan with 53 participants from the Middle East region. Of these 21 have been selected for 6-12 months of training in accelerator science and technology at European synchrotron radiation labs. Programs to train users are also underway. Workshops have been held on the use of synchrotron radiation in structural molecular biology and on materials science. Several scientists are also now working at US facilities for extended periods with partial support from a program funded by the US Department of Energy.

Job descriptions for the key positions of SESAME director and Technical Director have been distributed and posted on the web site. The position of Technical Director is viewed as particularly urgent since design and construct at the Allaan, Jordan site could begin early 2001. A search committee, chaired by G.-A. Voss (Desy), will identify candidates. Voss is also cochair of the SESAME Technical Committee.

At the Yerevan IC meeting the Armenian delegation, led by Ambassador Karen Nazarian, proposed that SESAME develop a 2-prong plan; a 1-GeV facility in Jordan based on an upgrade of the BESSY I facility, plus a 2.5-3 GeV facility in Armenia. Initial funding for the Armenian facility, at the level of $30M was said to be available, half coming from about $100M of US aid to Armenia and half from individual contributions by the Armenian diaspora, provided that the project is realized inside the SESAME frame. The Armenian diaspora was represented at the Yerevan meeting by Jirair Hovnanian, an Armenian-American entrepreneur who hosted a gala dinner for the IC.

Strong support for an international SR facility in Armenia was also shown by the President of the Republic, Robert Kocharian, who met with members of the SESAME IC, by Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, who hosted a reception for the IC, and at meetings with Deputy Foreign Minister Ruben Shugarian and Minister of Trade and Industry Karen Chshmaritan.

The Armenian facility would be built at the Yerevan Physics Institute (YERPHI) - a major accelerator facility with a broad infrastructure and an operational 4.5 GeV electron synchrotron (called ARUS) built in the mid-1960's, and used as a 50 Hz cyclic accelerator for both high-energy physics and SR research. Due to the stringent economic situation in Armenia for the past few years, funds for the operation of ARUS for research have not been available. However regular maintenance is carried out and the machine is briefly operated from time to time to verify its operability. The experienced accelerator staff, buildings and infrastructure of YERPHI are important features of the Armenian proposal. There is also a strong desire to create an international scientific center in Armenia as a means of improving relations with neighboring countries and revitalizing science in Armenia.

YERPHI has managed to continue operation of international cosmic ray stations on Mt. Aragatz (elevation 3,200 m), one of the most important such facilities in the world. There are also other research institutes in Armenia, such as the Physical Research Institute in Ashtarak, Armenia where a broad program of research in materials is conducted.

A group of Armenian scientists and others, coordinated by Vassily Tsakanov (YERPHI) and Anahid Yeremian (SLAC), are working to produce a conceptual design report (CDR) for a 2.5-3 GeV facility in Yerevan, similar to the October 1999 CDR for the 1 GeV facility in Jordan.

The next meeting of the SESAME IC is planned for March 12-13, 2001 in Cairo to consider this CDR, review funds available for facilities in Jordan and Armenia, and, in general, to take the next steps to bring SR to this part of the world.

Herman Winick